With the integration of computers into numerous vehicle systems, the driver experience has been enhanced in numerous ways. One of the more noticeable improvements has been the inclusion of full color, touch navigable visual displays in the center stack of a vehicle. From entertainment to information, these displays provide a suite of options for improving the driving experience, options which can collectively be referred to as an infotainment system.
Many of the options are user configurable, and the menus and presentations are often designed to be intuitive to use. Radio controls, navigation systems, text, email and phone call presentations may all be available through the system, and, generally, the controls associated with these displays track to familiar controls from other devices which provide these options.
Typically, however, there may be additional system controls available through the infotainment system, and not all of these controls can “map” to controls in other aspects of life, especially if the controls are vehicle specific. Enablement and configuration of vehicle systems, seat settings, preferred climate control options, call handling functionality, navigation presentation, etc., are just some of the available options. While it may be obvious to many users that a play icon (a laterally aligned triangle) can be used to play a track on a CD, some of the other features may be less intuitive.
Additionally, some people are simply unfamiliar with what many others would consider to be “commonplace” icons, and some level of training may be required to use the features associated therewith. Unfortunately, when drivers are in a vehicle, they are typically focused on the task of driving. While this is obviously desirable from a safety perspective, it can result in the driver never familiarizing themselves with the infotainment system controls.
Many of the controls may also be disabled while the vehicle is in motion for safety reasons. It could be dangerous to have a driver adjusting seat controls through a visual interface while driving, so the controls may be locked until the vehicle is stopped. Since drivers typically don't spend a great deal of time in their car while it is parked, it may be the case that much functionality is overlooked, due to confusion or lack of knowledge. Unless the driver makes an effort to become familiar with the system controls, many great features of the infotainment system may go completely unused.
Also, users may have some crossover between phone-enabled features and infotainment features. For example, music could be played from a phone interface or using a vehicle system interface. If the user is familiar with the phone interface, and the phone interface varies from the vehicle system interface, the user may simply elect to use the phone interface on the phone instead of interacting with the vehicle. Similarly, many phones have navigation systems installed thereon. If the user is comfortable with the phone navigation interface, the vehicle navigation interface may go largely unused.